{"id":189931,"date":"2021-06-23T11:47:18","date_gmt":"2021-06-23T15:47:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/?p=189931"},"modified":"2021-06-25T06:04:55","modified_gmt":"2021-06-25T10:04:55","slug":"ares-professional-development-pro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/news\/ares-professional-development-pro\/","title":{"rendered":"ARE\u2019s Professional Development Pro"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>When Robin Clements was an undergraduate in the 2000s, she didn\u2019t pay much attention to professional development and networking opportunities. Now, as an advising coordinator with NC&#160;State University\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/agricultural-and-resource-economics\/\">Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics<\/a>, she encourages students to take advantage of the department\u2019s many door-opening opportunities, and she makes professional skill-building practice an integral part of her classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Clements joined NC&#160;State\u2019s staff in 2007. She has worked directly with students ever since, first in university admissions, then in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences\u2019 academic programs office and now in her current position working with students in the agricultural business management major.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Clements enjoys staying busy. Each semester, she teaches two courses: ARE 290, Professional Development in Agribusiness Management, and ARE 490, Career Seminar in Agriculture and Resource Economics. She also manages projects, advises 80 to 175 students, leads the ARE Student Ambassadors program and helps line up companies that participate in departmental job fairs and its job shadowing opportunities.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Clements shares some of those responsibilities with other members of her team \u2013 Undergraduate Coordinator John Russ and Undergraduate Program Specialist Jocelyn Valdez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a recent interview, Clements shared more about herself, her job and what she and her teammates do to help students prepare for professional success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What do you think people would be surprised to know about you?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>At the beginning of each semester, I like to introduce myself so my students know I\u2019m a human being, not a robot up in an office \u2013 \u2018I\u2019m here to help you, and I was once a student like you.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m into true crime. I have four or five podcasts about true crime I listen to when I\u2019m driving to and from work, exercising, cleaning, traveling \u2026 I also love fishing. I\u2019m no expert, but it\u2019s really&nbsp;relaxing. And I\u2019m an avid reader. I usually read at least one book a week, if not two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, I go to bed really early, and I get up really early. I tell my students, \u2018You have my phone number, but if you text me after 9 o\u2019clock at night, it\u2019s not happening.\u2019 But then we\u2019re up at like 5:15, 5:30 a.m.. I ruined my sleep at college, but now I\u2019m systematic about my schedule and sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I believe in a good sleep schedule so much that one of the first things I say to students who tell me they\u2019re struggling is, \u2018Tell me your schedule.\u2019 Sometimes the problem is in their sleeping schedule, so I encourage them to get on a sort of 9-to-5 plan with a full eight hours of sleep per night. We work up schedules that factor in their sleep, studying and classes as well as free time for socializing and fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How has the pandemic affected your students? And how has the department responded?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For some students, not much has changed. For others, there has been a difficulty in reaching out for help. We\u2019ve always had an environment where if a student seems like they\u2019re struggling, an instructor will reach out to Dr. Russ and me, and we\u2019ll connect with the student to get to the root of the issue. We let the students know we\u2019re here. They have my cell phone number; they have Dr. Russ\u2019s cell phone number. And they can email us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We purchased a service for texting students, so we can send reminders, because with some students, they weren\u2019t doing emails, they weren\u2019t doing work, but they were on their phones. When students are in need, we want to meet them where they are and make contact in the ways they are most likely to respond and engage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think there\u2019s been more of a conscious effort across the entire department of being aware of when students are showing warning signs and letting us know really soon that there\u2019s a problem so that we can help the students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>You started a job shadowing program. How are students benefiting from this and other professional development opportunities in ARE?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With job shadowing, I\u2019ve seen students have aha moments when they come back from those experiences. \u00ad\u00adI had one student come back who shadowed management saying, \u2018I loved every second of it, but I don\u2019t want to manage yet, I\u2019m not ready.\u2019 He realized the path he needed to take to prepare for management, but he realized, at 18, he wasn\u2019t ready. That\u2019s where our curriculum can help the student and job shadowing served one of its purposes &#8212; to encourage engagement and appreciation of the course content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another example is one student who was really unsure of what she wanted. Multiple employers came in to talk in our 490 class about their jobs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then she did exactly what my goal is for the students: She made a professional connection with the person from the company she was interested in, networked and met others at the organization. She shadowed with them to make sure she understood the work the company performed, and she got an internship. She figured out what she wanted from shadowing and classes. And in the end, she got it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I saw this quote the other day, \u2018It\u2019s not job boards that get people jobs, it\u2019s people that get people jobs.\u2019 We\u2019re trying to tell our students that it\u2019s who you know. And, in many ways, job searching is pretty much the opposite of what we\u2019ve ever been taught about being polite. It\u2019s bragging on yourself a little bit. It\u2019s asking people for help. It\u2019s all these things that make us uncomfortable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What other resources does the department provide to help students be workforce ready?<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In January, we had a virtual career fair \u2013 our first one ever \u2013 and had roughly 50 employers. The feedback we got from employers that day in that moment was phenomenal: \u2018Your students are so prepared. They\u2019re so professional.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To see that our students were taking what they were learning in the classroom and actually applying it made me proud. Because of the success, we\u2019re planning another one in August, and we\u2019re hoping to have 100 employers, just for agribusiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What makes you so passionate about your work?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>What I love about what I\u2019m doing is that I\u2019m able to encourage the students to pursue professional development by just telling my story: \u2018I didn\u2019t use these opportunities, and it took me six months to find a job. You don\u2019t have to be me, right? You can have a job right out of college. You can have great internships that will prepare you. You can have references. You can fill in the things I didn\u2019t take advantage of and have an easier professional start.\u2019 And it\u2019s pretty cool to see the fantastic results of the hard work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"wp-block-ncst-highlight with-image\"><h2 class=\"highlight__label\">Related<\/h2><a href=\"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/are-extension\/news\/student-spotlight-meg-anderson\/\" class=\"highlight__link\" data-ua-cat=\"Highlight Block\" data-ua-action=\"Story Click\" data-ua-label=\"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/are-extension\/news\/student-spotlight-meg-anderson\/\"><div class=\"highlight__image-container\"><div class=\"highlight__image-background\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1152\" class=\"highlight__image wp-image-189941\" alt=\"null\" src=\"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/meganderson.jpeg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/meganderson.jpeg 2048w, https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/meganderson-300x169.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/meganderson-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/meganderson-768x432.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/meganderson-1536x864.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/><\/div><\/div><div class=\"highlight__text-container\"><h3 class=\"highlight__heading\">Meg Anderson Talks About Teamwork<\/h3><p class=\"highlight__teaser\">NC&#160;State students like Meg who serve as ambassadors develop highly sought-after skills, such as leadership, teamwork, time management, and <span class=\"nowrap\">listening.\u00a0<span class=\"arrow-indicator\"> <svg class=\"wolficon\" role=\"img\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><use xlink:href=\"#wolficon-arrow-right-light\" \/><\/svg> <\/span><\/span><\/p><\/div><\/a><\/aside>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"<!-- wp:ncst\/dynamic-header -->\n<!-- wp:ncst\/default-post-header \/-->\n<!-- \/wp:ncst\/dynamic-header -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>When Robin Clements was an undergraduate in the 2000s, she didn\u2019t pay much attention to professional development and networking opportunities. Now, as an advising coordinator with NC State University\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/agricultural-and-resource-economics\/\">Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics<\/a>, she encourages students to take advantage of the department\u2019s many door-opening opportunities, and she makes professional skill-building practice an integral part of her classes.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Clements joined NC State\u2019s staff in 2007. She has worked directly with students ever since, first in university admissions, then in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences\u2019 academic programs office and now in her current position working with students in the agricultural business management major.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Clements enjoys staying busy. Each semester, she teaches two courses: ARE 290, Professional Development in Agribusiness Management, and ARE 490, Career Seminar in Agriculture and Resource Economics. She also manages projects, advises 80 to 175 students, leads the ARE Student Ambassadors program and helps line up companies that participate in departmental job fairs and its job shadowing opportunities.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Clements shares some of those responsibilities with other members of her team \u2013 Undergraduate Coordinator John Russ and Undergraduate Program Specialist Jocelyn Valdez.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>In a recent interview, Clements shared more about herself, her job and what she and her teammates do to help students prepare for professional success.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:heading -->\n<h2><strong>What do you think people would be surprised to know about you?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<!-- \/wp:heading -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>At the beginning of each semester, I like to introduce myself so my students know I\u2019m a human being, not a robot up in an office \u2013 \u2018I\u2019m here to help you, and I was once a student like you.\u2019<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>I\u2019m into true crime. I have four or five podcasts about true crime I listen to when I\u2019m driving to and from work, exercising, cleaning, traveling \u2026 I also love fishing. I\u2019m no expert, but it\u2019s really&nbsp;relaxing. And I\u2019m an avid reader. I usually read at least one book a week, if not two.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Finally, I go to bed really early, and I get up really early. I tell my students, \u2018You have my phone number, but if you text me after 9 o\u2019clock at night, it\u2019s not happening.\u2019 But then we\u2019re up at like 5:15, 5:30 a.m.. I ruined my sleep at college, but now I\u2019m systematic about my schedule and sleep.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>I believe in a good sleep schedule so much that one of the first things I say to students who tell me they\u2019re struggling is, \u2018Tell me your schedule.\u2019 Sometimes the problem is in their sleeping schedule, so I encourage them to get on a sort of 9-to-5 plan with a full eight hours of sleep per night. We work up schedules that factor in their sleep, studying and classes as well as free time for socializing and fun.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:heading -->\n<h2><strong>How has the pandemic affected your students? And how has the department responded?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<!-- \/wp:heading -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>For some students, not much has changed. For others, there has been a difficulty in reaching out for help. We\u2019ve always had an environment where if a student seems like they\u2019re struggling, an instructor will reach out to Dr. Russ and me, and we\u2019ll connect with the student to get to the root of the issue. We let the students know we\u2019re here. They have my cell phone number; they have Dr. Russ\u2019s cell phone number. And they can email us.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>We purchased a service for texting students, so we can send reminders, because with some students, they weren\u2019t doing emails, they weren\u2019t doing work, but they were on their phones. When students are in need, we want to meet them where they are and make contact in the ways they are most likely to respond and engage.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>I think there\u2019s been more of a conscious effort across the entire department of being aware of when students are showing warning signs and letting us know really soon that there\u2019s a problem so that we can help the students.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:heading -->\n<h2><strong>You started a job shadowing program. How are students benefiting from this and other professional development opportunities in ARE?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<!-- \/wp:heading -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>With job shadowing, I\u2019ve seen students have aha moments when they come back from those experiences. \u00ad\u00adI had one student come back who shadowed management saying, \u2018I loved every second of it, but I don\u2019t want to manage yet, I\u2019m not ready.\u2019 He realized the path he needed to take to prepare for management, but he realized, at 18, he wasn\u2019t ready. That\u2019s where our curriculum can help the student and job shadowing served one of its purposes -- to encourage engagement and appreciation of the course content.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Another example is one student who was really unsure of what she wanted. Multiple employers came in to talk in our 490 class about their jobs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Then she did exactly what my goal is for the students: She made a professional connection with the person from the company she was interested in, networked and met others at the organization. She shadowed with them to make sure she understood the work the company performed, and she got an internship. She figured out what she wanted from shadowing and classes. And in the end, she got it.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>I saw this quote the other day, \u2018It\u2019s not job boards that get people jobs, it\u2019s people that get people jobs.\u2019 We\u2019re trying to tell our students that it\u2019s who you know. And, in many ways, job searching is pretty much the opposite of what we\u2019ve ever been taught about being polite. It\u2019s bragging on yourself a little bit. It\u2019s asking people for help. It\u2019s all these things that make us uncomfortable.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:heading -->\n<h2><strong>What other resources does the department provide to help students be workforce ready?<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><\/h2>\n<!-- \/wp:heading -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>In January, we had a virtual career fair \u2013 our first one ever \u2013 and had roughly 50 employers. The feedback we got from employers that day in that moment was phenomenal: \u2018Your students are so prepared. They\u2019re so professional.\u2019<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>To see that our students were taking what they were learning in the classroom and actually applying it made me proud. Because of the success, we\u2019re planning another one in August, and we\u2019re hoping to have 100 employers, just for agribusiness.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:heading -->\n<h2><strong>What makes you so passionate about your work?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<!-- \/wp:heading -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>What I love about what I\u2019m doing is that I\u2019m able to encourage the students to pursue professional development by just telling my story: \u2018I didn\u2019t use these opportunities, and it took me six months to find a job. You don\u2019t have to be me, right? You can have a job right out of college. You can have great internships that will prepare you. You can have references. You can fill in the things I didn\u2019t take advantage of and have an easier professional start.\u2019 And it\u2019s pretty cool to see the fantastic results of the hard work.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:ncst\/highlight {\"teaser\":\"NC State students like Meg who serve as ambassadors develop highly sought-after skills, such as leadership, teamwork, time management, and listening.\",\"imageID\":189941} -->\n<aside class=\"wp-block-ncst-highlight with-image\"><h2 class=\"highlight__label\">Related<\/h2><a href=\"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/are-extension\/news\/student-spotlight-meg-anderson\/\" class=\"highlight__link\" data-ua-cat=\"Highlight Block\" data-ua-action=\"Story Click\" data-ua-label=\"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/are-extension\/news\/student-spotlight-meg-anderson\/\"><div class=\"highlight__image-container\"><div class=\"highlight__image-background\"><img class=\"highlight__image wp-image-189941\" alt=\"null\" src=\"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/meganderson.jpeg\" \/><\/div><\/div><div class=\"highlight__text-container\"><h3 class=\"highlight__heading\">Meg Anderson Talks About Teamwork<\/h3><p class=\"highlight__teaser\">NC State students like Meg who serve as ambassadors develop highly sought-after skills, such as leadership, teamwork, time management, and <span class=\"nowrap\">listening.\u00a0<span class=\"arrow-indicator\"> <svg class=\"wolficon\" role=\"img\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><use xlink:href=\"#wolficon-arrow-right-light\" \/><\/svg> <\/span><\/span><\/p><\/div><\/a><\/aside>\n<!-- \/wp:ncst\/highlight -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As an advisor and teacher, Robin Clements gives students something she passed up in college: the opportunity to identify a job they\u2019ll love and then skillfully pursue it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":190070,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"","ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"ncst\/default-post-header","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"{\"showAuthor\":true,\"showDate\":true,\"showFeaturedVideo\":false,\"caption\":\"\",\"displayCategoryID\":1171}","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1792,1171,1181],"tags":[321],"_ncst_magazine_issue":[],"coauthors":[1651],"class_list":["post-189931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cals-weekly","category-faculty-and-staff","category-newswire","tag-department-of-agricultural-and-resource-economics"],"displayCategory":{"term_id":1171,"name":"Faculty and Staff","slug":"faculty-and-staff","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1171,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":1134,"filter":"raw"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=189931"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189931\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":190114,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189931\/revisions\/190114"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/190070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=189931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=189931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=189931"},{"taxonomy":"_ncst_magazine_issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/_ncst_magazine_issue?post=189931"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=189931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}